Doc needs a doggie sibling! Sorry but cats just don't cut it. Another dog would keep him company while you are working, give him someone to play with outside, increase his exercise in the yard so you don't have to walk him so much (if you don't want to), etc. Think about it Beth. I bet you could even get an older, housetrained, etc dog at the shelter who would fit right in... Anyone else have multi dog stories? I would never have just one again... (Or perhaps I am only making excuses for getting *another* dog myself when I already have 6 of them! )

-- Anonymous, March 21, 2000

Answers

And what business, may I ask, is this of yours?

-- Anonymous, March 22, 2000

Uh, Stijn, it's okay. Cathy is a friend, and she knows a heck of a lot about dogs. And I happen to agree with her ... Doc *does* need a friend. Some dogs do better on their own, but Doc would be much, much happier with another dog around. Unfortunately, I do not need another dog at this point, but it's something I would definitely consider in the future.

And I'm interested in hearing about other people's experience with multiple dog households. For instance, if you have several big dogs, how on earth do you take them for a walk? Obviously you don't if they're pullers (Doc isn't, at least not since he got a Halti), but I would think that even very well behaved dogs would be a handful to walk all at once if they were really big. (I figure I'd trip over them.)

How do people do it?

-- Anonymous, March 22, 2000

I had two Labs a few years ago. I introduced the puppy pretty late in my older dog's life (she was 7 at the time). Although they got along "okay", I think my older dog went into a depression-like state from then on. How do you tell if a dog is depressed? I don't really know, but it just seemed that she was.

We lived in a rural area, so walking was never a problem. My older dog was trained to stay near me without a leash, and the puppy naturally followed her wherever she went.

A couple of years later I went through a divorce, and we gave the young dog up to a new home. My parents took care of the older dog until I could get back on my feet and take her back in. She lived out the rest of her life (put down at 11-1/2 due to cancer) as the single, top dog. I may be imagining it, but I think she was happier that way. I read somewhere, although I can't cite it, that Labrador Retrievers do prefer being "only dogs".

I have another Lab now, and she too, seems to enjoy being queen of the castle.

-- Anonymous, March 22, 2000

Oops..... that's my big mouth getting away with me again. Sorry. I'll try to keep it in check next time.

I moved out of my parents' place because they had bought two young, very enthusiastic dogs. It was even a democratic decision. I had voted against it, but I was outvoted by my parents and my younger brother. I was also the one who had to take care of them most of the time, since I had just finished high school and had an evening job at the time. The dogs and me had a strenuous relationship to say the least. I felt crowded by them and didn't like cleaning up after them, feeding them or in general having them depend on me. And they knew how I felt. After a few months, I decided that the best thing for the dogs and myself would be for me to call it quits and find a place of my own.

The moral of the story? Don't have multiple dogs unless you have the time and the space, or both you and the dogs will suffer for it.

-- Anonymous, March 22, 2000

We had two dogs growing up, but now I have no dogs at all.

We got Sam (border collie/black lab mix) when he was a puppy, a 6 week old ball of fluff. He was the only dog for years. When I was in the 6th or 7th grade and Sam was probably five or six years old, we got Alex (black lab/golden retriever) who was six months old. No one likes to admit it, but Alex quickly became the favorite, although Sam was still the alpha dog. Sam was grouchy and had that cat attitude. Alex was pure friendly happy puppy-dog, and stayed that way until he was put down last year at age 14 or so.

Alex did help bring Sam out of his rut a bit, but for the most part Sam never wanted to play, he just wanted to go somewhere and sleep. Alex would follow you around the house and sit by you and be real real happy if you payed attention to him.

We had a fairly big yard in a small city growing up, and it was on a dead end street so we could let both dogs out with no leash as long as someone was out there with them. If my dad was out there, they would NEVER run off, if my mom was out there they occasionally would if they saw something they wanted to chase. If my sister was out there they would always run off. I was a mixed bag.

I miss my dogs.

-- Anonymous, March 22, 2000

Here is what stinj's parents say about stinj. " I felt crowded by stinj and didn't like cleaning up after stinj, feeding stinj or in general having stinj depend on us." Sorry man, I couldn't resist.

Anyway, when my wife and I got our first dog my wife was between jobs. About 9 months later my wife found work and we had to leave the dog alone for about 6 hours every weekday. When we returned home the dog would yelp and whine as though she were the loneliest thing on the face of the earth. She was soooo happy to see us, but she also let us know we deserted her and that we should be ashamed of ourselves. A few months later we went to the pound to find a little lap dog for my mother in law. (Guys here is a hint, if you do not want another dog do not take your wife to the pound.) My wife did not find a lap dog for my mother in law. She did find a little sister for our lab mix. The first day our lab was a little jelious and territorial. After that the two of them were inseparable. Now when we return home the dogs are glad to see us but there is no whining like before. Not even a little bit. There are drawbacks. Whereas one dog can be destructive. Two dogs HAVE to be destructive. And it is not just the destruction of one dog doubled. It seems to be exponential, say maybe four times as destructive. But they are the happiest pups in town so it was worth it. go here to see them. http://home.earthlink.net/~jfboehm/

-- Anonymous, March 22, 2000

Puck - my golden/chow mix - was a very social puppy and loved playing with other dogs. Once our informal nightly gatherings with other dog owners in the common area of our neighborhood was halted when somebody called the animal warden on us, we had one lonely pup.

And after working all day it was depressing to come home to this creature who was so starved for affection and attention while all we wanted to do was sit down and relax.

Enter Gyspy, the lab/hound mix. Same age as Puck but female, got her at the same animal shelter. Love at first sight for him.

Has it been trouble? Or sure, the hardest part is when one is sick and you don't know *which* one ("okay, who peed on the carpet?")and there is twice as much to clen up after...twice the vet bills, etc.

But they are best of friends and sleep curled up together some nights and play together all the time and generally keep each other company. If one is out of the house without the other then it's whine, whine, whine until they are reunited.

Gypsy's a bitch and beats Puck up on a regular basis but he's so clueless, he just rolls over and begs for more.

I handle the walking thing by taking them seperately - Gypsy can't have as much exercise anyway since she has hip dsyplasia (whatever) and so far they have managed pretty well to keep fit and trim by chasing each other around the house every day.

I am not looking forward to the day when one of them dies and I'm left with a single and very lonely dog. I wouldn't get a puppy then, they've gotten cranky as they have gotten older (8 now) and much less tolerant of the little whipper-snappers we meet on our walks.

But I recommend having two dogs and think I always will from now on - the interaction they have together is great fun to watch, gives them the companionship they need during the day, and I like dogs and it's nice to have the two different personalities around the house.

Three? no friggin way, what, you crazy? I'll stick with just two.

- t

-- Anonymous, March 22, 2000

I walk all the adult dogs together (the pups under 2 years old who have not had their hips/elbows radiographed exercise themselves) and that's 2 Rottweilers and 2 Pugs. All on leash, all on plain buckle collars, all walking in front of me, but trained to move to the left side when a vehicle approaches. I teach them all when they are pups not to pull (use a gentle leader then if necessary) and they are quite well behaved. I live out in the boonies and I like taking the Rottweilers out with the Pugs as bodyguards in case we meet a mean dog, a sickly looking coyote/fox/wolf or even a bear!

Dogs are pack animals and if owners are busy with work and activities they often appreciate some company. I wouldn't recommend getting a second dog unless and until the first one is trained, because two untrained dogs are a handful! But I have found the second pup easier to train then then first one because the first one often helps train by example. My oldest female Rottweiler (6 yo) disciplines the young dogs for me if they chase cats or get too rowdy in the house. However, I wouldn't wait too long because some dogs (territorial/guarding breeds in particular that were often encouraged to work alone) don't appreciate a new pack member once they reach maturity. I suggest getting the opposite sex to the dog you have now and having both dogs neutered. Labs are a *very* social breed and I've not known many with territorial or dominance issues with a new puppy.

Double the vet bills is a factor I don't often consider but the food bills are high around here and there is a tonne of dog poop to clean up and hair balls floating around the house. But it's worth it to me because I know the dogs are keeping each other company when I have to be at the clinic and they can't come along.

-- Anonymous, March 22, 2000

As some of you know, I've got three big dogs. The smallest of the three is about 50 pounds and she's only small because the other two top 75 pounds.

I started out with just Mack and that was fine for apartment living, but he really did need a lot of walking and trips to the park. He always got along with other dogs and he nudged me a lot at home to spend time with him.

Mack made the decision to get us another dog. He found Brandy on one of our walks, homeless, skinny, and sweet, and insisted that I bring her home. It was love at first sight.

I couldn't keep the two of them in my apartment, so Dave took Brandy to live with him during the week. On the weekends we lived together and Mack was SO much happier with Brandy around. They kept each other occupied and they were both better behaved with the other around.

At first it was difficult to walk them together but after a while it got to be second nature. Mack had been to obedience school and would walk on a leash fairly well. Brandy has always been responsive and good. You get used to it and they get used to it too.

And I had the best of both worlds -- Brandy is a cuddle dog and loves to curl up with me and sleep, Mack is a play dog who will fetch long past his tired point. I could take the two of them to the park and they would chase each other around for hours.

BTW, neither was a puppy when we got them. Mack was about 2 when I got him from the shelter, Brandy was 6-8 months old when we found her.

Getting Ginger was a little bit crazy on my part. I figured I loved my two dogs, what was one more? And I think the only crazy part was getting her as a puppy. We really weren't ready for all that came with it, but now it's working out better. The three of them get along pretty well, only having arguments over toys sometimes.

I really can't walk the three of them alone. I have an extremely large yard (1.4 acres) so I really don't have to worry about it. If we go for walks Dave goes with us and one of us will walk M&B and the other will walk G.

I'd say the only big difference having two over one is the noise level. You have to be prepared that two dogs take up more space and they make bigger messes when they play together. And you'd better make room in your bed too. But I think the beneifts outweigh the negatives. They really do keep each other company and they always have a playmate. If Beth were to get another dog I'd suggest getting a female. Females are a lot more docile and Doc will appreciate being the boss.

I'll always have at least two dogs. I'm not sure I'll have three again, but I wouldn't give any one of them back.

Too bad you live all the way in California, my Ginger would LOVE to play with Doc. She gets so frustrated when Mack or Brandy doesn't want to play.

-- Anonymous, March 22, 2000

Last fall, I sent my boyfriend to the pound to pick out a dog,and he came home with TWO 4 month old lab puppies. Aack. Don't have to tell you who got to take care of them. When I decided to split, I asked which dog he wanted, and he refused them both. So I sent an email to my department looking for an adoptive family, and gave the smaller one away. They are both happy as can be, the queens of their respective households.

Having walked/fed/cleaned up after two dogs, I have a keen appreciation for my one dog, and how easy it is to take care of her. Two dogs are not, as some will tell you, nearly the same as one -- it's more like having ten dogs at once. Walking two dogs on leashes is an exercise in patience. I felt like a May pole sometimes.

As a gardener, one other thing looms: my two were terrible diggers. The yard looks like the surface of the moon. Now that Dolly's alone, she doesn't dig in the yard at all. Daisy's still tearing things up over at her new home. I plan to put in a raised bed, but I'll put chicken wire around it and hope for the best.

-- Anonymous, March 22, 2000

Oh, no, I would definitely never do two puppies at once. Everything I've read says that's a bad idea, especially litter mates: they're so bonded to each other at first that they don't want to listen to you, plus you just can't give them each the time you need to give to a young puppy. I've also heard that litter mates are likely to have clashes when they get older, especially if they are female. Something I read once said that when bringing two dogs together, it was best to have different sexes and different (but compatible) breeds, with one a year or two older than the other, and the first dog should be slightly more dominant than the second one you bring in. It said that the very worst case scenario in terms of having dog fights and dominance struggles was two unaltered females of the same breed, particularly litter mates. I don't know if that's true or not.

Of course, I'm worried mostly about turning my house into complete bedlam, not dog fights. Doc has been bitten, pounced on (not playfully), and seriously snarled at at least a dozen times, and he just looks confused: "Why isn't he my friend? I do not understand." If it's really bad he'll roll onto his back in complete and utter submission, but mostly he just keeps trying to play. It's always been a much smaller dog that's acting as the aggressor, so it's not like he couldn't kick someone's ass if he wanted to ... he just has no interest in anything but playing.

If I do get another dog, it will be when Doc is 18 months to 2 years old, and it will probably be about a six to ten month old dog from a rescue group. (Lots of dogs show up at that age, because those are the monster months.) Definitely a female, and definitely one who gets along with cats and other dogs. As much work as Doc was, I am now totally sold on the idea of getting a dog as a young puppy, because we are so pleased with how he's turning out. But I can't housebreak another puppy again, not any time soon. Doc was a breeze to housebreak compared to some other dogs, but coming home every three hours for months and months sucked, and I can't do it again. I need a dog with a bladder!

-- Anonymous, March 22, 2000

Oh, yeah, I was going to add: Doc has definite breed preferences. He would like his new sister to be a Dalmatian, a golden retriever, a Rottweiler, a Viszla, or a black lab, pretty much in that order. Those are the breeds of dogs he's most likely to approach and play with (probably because he has friends in most of the above categories --- but the Dalmatian thing is just completely random; he sees a Dalmatian and practically drags me across the street to get to it.) Mom doesn't think a Dalmatian or a Rottie would be such a great idea, although she likes both breeds just fine.

-- Anonymous, March 22, 2000

At my house, we have two dogs. My brother wanted a dog larger than our yippy, aging dachshund. My parents told him if he could find a free, adult dog, he could have it. They never thought he could do it; the next week, we had a new dog.

We got Keela, a yellow lab, as an adult. She and Sparky effectively ignored each others existence. Keela would pretend that this yappy, demanding dog wasnt talking to her. Sparky would pretend that this invader dog didnt get in her way. Not the ideal situation, but certainly not a problem.

Then the inevitable happened: Sparky died. We got Ellie, the third dachshund. Ellie LOVES Keela. They are inseparable and (overly) dependent on each other. Keela pulls the bread off of the counter for Ellie. Ellie encourages Keela to break out of the fence. Walking them together is a bit of a problem, mainly due to the fact that both Keela and Ellie love to run. I can walk almost as fast as a dachshund can run and Keela can walk about as fast as I can run.

I think whats important is having time to care for both dogs. Two dogs do take up more time than just one, but they do keep each other company, so there is less of an entertainment issue. Its also important that the dogs mutually define their relationship. And, experience with Ellie shows me that they need to be the same size; because of their size differences, Ellie doesnt quiet realize that she's an adult dog. Maybe Doc knows what hes talking about with these other dog choices . . .

If I didn't live in an apartment and move twice a year, I would get a dog. And that would probably result in a second. Then I would be the crazy lady with the all the dogs.

-- Anonymous, March 22, 2000

Two dogs or one? A topic near and dear to my heart, as we just recently made a doggie addition to our house.

Bessie our wonderbeagle is an extremely social dog...so much so that she mopes if she doesn't have her daily romp at the local dog park. For the past 6 months or so she has been going to her best doggie friend's house once a week for a day of playing. This worked well for both Jake (the blue heeler) and Bess (above mentioned wonder beagle). Over Chrissy, my husband and I went on an extended holiday to the US (I'm American, he's Australian and we currently live in Aus.) Bess went to stay with the in-laws, who have a staffy cross. They got on like a house on fire. It was evident when we got back that Bess was increasingly unhappy in a one dog household. Especially with my hours away increasing (job and school commitments) and my husband's hours away increasing. She never did naughty things, but she was a bit mopey. She was also putting on weight, and being less and less active.

After a lot of thinking and pondering, we decided that we would get a second dog. We narrowed down the choices to a second beagle, or a border terrier (as we had a fairly good idea of what the temperments of the animals would be and were confident of a good fit). As it were, the first animal that became available was a border terrier. So, Ruby was welcomed into our home with much tail wagging just over two weeks ago.

Things have been so much easier than I ever dreamed. Ruby worships Bessie, and so does everything Bessie does. Luckily Bessie has always been a relatively well behaved dog (ie. she was housetrained within the first week of getting her, no excessive digging/chewing issues), and hence Ruby has followed suit. (With some minor moments of puppy induced crazies.)

Beagles are keen pack animals, especially when socialised young and on review we really think this is the best decision for our household.

Mind you, we didn't enter into it blindly. We will probably relocate back to Texas in a couple years time, and so have had to consider all the associated costs of relocating not one but two dogs. Also, our vet bills have just increased exponentially. We are mitigating the vet bill issue by insuring both dogs (our provider is excellent), and will deal with the moving issues when we get to that stage.

All in all, Ruby has been a delightful addition to our house, and to the established dog park pack. She now visits Jake with Bess, and the three of them go bezerk for the day. She compliments Bess's bossy and outgoing temperment quite well.

So, a success story for a multiple dog household. WE are still working on walking them together...we are using a coupler, but the size differential at the moment makes it a bit cumbersome (ie. Ruby is in real danger of having her head ripped off at times).

I think at the end of the day it can be wonderful for the single dog. That is if the single dog is social and likes hanging out in a pack of sorts. Also, it is a decision not to be taken lightly. The main issue to consider is to find a dog that fits into your household, and that can be tricky. We seem to have lucked out.

Cheers.

-- Anonymous, March 22, 2000

We have two dogs, both labs. We got Chloe when she was 7 weeks old, and she of course was adorable and all. BUT... as a typical lab, she loves to play. And we were her only playmates. So when we dragged ourselves home after work and wanted to relax, Chloe's day was just getting started. She would have every toy she owned on our laps in about 5 minutes. And as an only child, she had a whole lot of toys. To Chloe, "No" means "No, not THAT toy", not "No, I don't want to play right now. So she would keep bringing you toys until she brought you everything (thinking that the one toy out of a hundred that we were looking for that we wanted to play with HAD to be there). And then we would feel guilty that she had been sitting at home all day waiting for us, so we would of course play with her. But this happened every single day and we knew Chloe was bored without us.

When she was about 2, I convinced my SO that two labs would be much better then one, so we contacted the labrador rescue in our area, and started "interviewing" labs. We fell in love with Paige, a female who was rescued from a puppy mill. It was like getting a puppy in a 2 year old body, since she had never been taught anything. Chloe and Paige hit it off right away. At first Chloe had a little bit of only child jealousy- Hey, you're sitting where I want to sit, that's MY toy! But then she realized, I can play with this other dog all I want and she just plays back (Well, Paige was kind of nervous at first since she really didn't know how to play. But Chloe taught her pretty quickly on what a lab is supposed to do.)

Now they are completely devoted to each other. They play all day long and wrestle and run and lay around together. Chloe is still thrilled to see us at the end of the day, but it's not the obsessed PLAY WITH ME that it was before. There are a couple of things though: Chloe has an Alpha female personality, very dominate, and if Paige had the same personality it would never have worked. They would have been competing with each other. But Paige is somewhat submissive (to Chloe) and Chloe can take toys from her and sit on her and Paige is like, whatever. So they work for that reason. And yes, twice the food, twice the vet bills, twice the poop, but so? They are both twice as happy. And so are we!

I walk the two of them together all the time. Chloe is a puller, always the lead dog, Paige is content to stroll right next to me. They make a coupler that kind of hitches the collars together, so you only have one leash that clips to it and you walk both dogs with one leash, but I find two leashes are better or Chloe drags poor Paige along at a faster pace then she wants to walk (Chloe's legs are a little bit longer too). As soon as they learn what to do, it's no problem. And they caught on after the first walk together. You just have to make sure they know that you are in charge and that they need to listen to you and they do well. I used to own two Great Danes, and I walked them together also. No problems there either. So it can be done.

Personally, I would never own just one dog again, unless there is something in their personality that doesn't appreciate another dog. Most labs love company, though. It really depends on the dog and what it is that you can handle. I actually want another lab (a chocolate so I can have a complete set) but I can't quite convince my SO of that because he says he'll have to sleep on the floor if we do since the other two sleep with us and take up most of the room already!

-- Anonymous, March 22, 2000

I moved out of my parents house a year and a half ago, but at that time we had 4 dogs. 1 golden retriever, 2 black labs, 1 boxer. We had the retriever(Baron) first as an only dog. Baron was that way for about 3 years until we got the first black lab, Duke. Baron took to him almost immediatly, and they got along quite well. After Duke, my sister acquired a black lab puppy(Duchess) through a boyfriend. She and Duke both got along great and made quite the happy couple, but they were both still quite willing to play with Baron. When we acquired the boxer(Sonya - no more royalty for us), she turned out to be so hyper that she didn't care who or what she was playing with as long as it was moving. Overall, we've never had any problems with our labs or retrievers getting along with other dogs. They're always more than willing to try to play with neighborhood dogs as well. I plan on getting my own dogs at some point, and I most likely will have 2. It tends to calm them down a lot in their attempts to play with you. They also might not need to be walked as frequently because they'll be running each other ragged all day.

-- Anonymous, March 23, 2000

This multi-dog household thing all depends on what sorts of dogs they are. We had Sadie, some kind of sheepdog mix, (75 pounds, from the Humane Society) for a few years alone. Things worked out fine - she was a spaz, but at the time, I was eight, so I was a bit of a spaz myself. We played for hours and each kept the other tired. She was pretty unconcerned with other dogs, though.
When Sadie was around four or five, we decided to get another dog. I don't really know why. Enter Buster (25 pounds, Labrador-Chihuahua cross, also Humane Society). He is very much the sum of his parts - Labrador goofy excitability, extreme friendliness with small children, intelligent and codependent to a fault. The Chihuahua part unfortunately made him shake when he's scared or cold, gave him a distaste for getting his feet wet, and made him antisocial to dogs that aren't Sadie.
So, they got along fairly well - Sadie is somewhat antisocial, and Buster is too people-oriented to notice other dogs much.
Then, we got a third dog. Scarlet. The mistake. (She was a whippet- sheperd cross, about forty pounds, again from the Humane Society.) Unfortunately, she was also a complete spaz. She drove me nuts. She'd chew on my stuff, pee on my books, and beat Buster up. She tore a giant hole in the living-room carpeting, too.
I was fed up, Buster was becoming a nuisance - he was being ignored, which made him cranky and depressed (a depressed Lab mix is a dreadful sight), and Sadie was her usual antisocial self.
Then, the bad things happened - my grandmother, who we lived with, had a stroke. She was going to come home from the nursing home on a walker. Scarlet defied all logistics of training - after a year, we still had to keep her in the crate - and we were worried that in her happiness, she'd knock my grandmother over.
So Scarlet went back to the Humane Society. We looked for a home for her, but no luck - nobody wanted a year-old spaz mix who still got so excited she'd piss all over the house.
Now, though, Buster is back to being the baby of the family, and Sadie still ignores us unless she wants something.
No more Whippet mixes for me, though. They are bad, bad news.

-- Anonymous, March 23, 2000